Post on 05-Oct-2021
Lee Kong Chian Natural
History Museum
Ko On Yi, GOGO (7)
Tse Chung Wing, JOANNE (10)
Hung Tin Hang, HENRY (6)
Kwok Wan Hin, EDWIN (8)
Law Chiu Yi, JOANNA (9)
Outline
1. Basic Information
2. Floor Plan, Exhibition & Theme
3. Education & Positive Impacts
4. Comparison with museums in Hong Kong
5. Suggestions for improvement
Basic information -By Gogo Ko
7
INTRODUCTION
• Founder
• Timeline
• Collection
– Botanical
– Zoological
• Research
7
Founder
- Founder of Singapore - Founder of Zoological Society of
London - Naturalist in Singapore, Malaysaia
and Indonesia - Enthusiastic in collecting specimen
7
Timeline Year
1849 - collection of Southeast Asia biodiversity in Raffles Museum
( renamed as National Museum of Singapore in 1965)
1878 - Official Establishment of natural history museum
1972 Transfer collection to 1. Zoology department, NUS 2. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research 3. LKCNHM
1955 - NUS Herbarium
7
Collection
• 1. herbarium
– >30000 catalogued specimens
• 2. Zoological material
– Raffles Collection
– Focus on Singapore and Malayan animals
– 560,000 catalogued specimens
– >1m specimen in total
7
Research
• documentation of plants in Southeast Asia and Singapore
• 1700-2000 scientific paper published in conservation biology etc.
7
Floor Plan, Exhibition & Theme -By Joanne Tse
10
Exhibition
Level 1
Level 1M Heritage Gallery
Biodiversity Gallery
Outdoor Gardens
10
Biodiversity Gallery
• 15 thematic zones
10
Let’s get started…
10
Rafflesia arnoldii
• Largest flower
• Rainforest
• Bloom for ~7days
• Strong & unpleasant smell
• Holoparasite
• Lack chlorophyll
• No photosynthesis
• Tourists’ attraction
10
10 Common Trees in Singapore
• Rain Tree
• Angsana
• Yellow Flame
• Senegal Mahogany
• Broad-leafed Mahogany
• Tembusu
• Sea Apple
• Saga
• Trumpet Tree
• Sea Almond
10
Rain Tree
• Large umbrella-shaped crown
• Leaves fold up before rain & in evening
• Clusters of small, fluffy white-pink flowers
• Popular for shading avenues
• Grow to 25 metres
10
Tembusu
• dark brown bark with deep fissures
• Perpendicular branching
• Clusters of creamy-white flowers with fragrance
• $5 note tree
• Grow to 40 metres
10
Making of Herbarium Sheet
1.Collection label 2.Leaves 3.Flower, fruit & seeds • Cost-effective • Space-effective
10
Animals 10
Dinosaur Zone
• 3 gigantic diplodocid sauropods fossils
• >65 million years ago
• >80% complete fossils
10
Singapore Jubilee Whale
• Sperm whale
• 10.6-metre long skeleton
• Washed up off Jurong in the middle of SG’s Jubilee Year
10
Heritage Gallery- Cabinets of Curiosities
• Specimen from Raffles Museum
10
Heritage Gallery- Singapore Today
• Geology
• Impact on natural landscape by British colonization
• Conservation work
• Building of the museum
10
Gardens
• Mangroves to Forest SE Asian plants From mangrove to swamp & dryland forest
• Phylogenetic Garden Food plants, e.g. Pandan From mosses, ferns to gymnosperms & flowering plants
10
6
• Exhibits based on taxonomical and phylogenetic approach
• Showcases the complexity of lifeforms and adaptations of
organisms to the environment
6
• Helps visitor develop curiosity and interest in origin of life,
and the respect to life and the environment
• Helps visitor understand the dynamic nature of natural
selection and speciation, and how they arise to the
present biodiversity
6
Science Education Key Learning Area, Biology Curriculum and Assessment Guide (S4 – 6), EDB, Hong Kong, 2015
6
• Compares the ‘now’ and ‘past’ – what have taken place
in Singapore
• Emphasizes the factor of humans in land use: changing
the landscape and habitats
• Addresses today’s biodiversity problems caused by
historical events
6
• Cross-disciplinary biogeographical analysis to raise
awareness on the inextricable relationship between
abiotic factors and biotic factors
6
• Alarms the audience about extinction and near-extinction
events in Singapore since 19th century
6
• Introduces the conservation management in Singapore
• Addresses the conservation efforts in both terrestrial and
marine
• Educates the audience to dedicate themselves in
biodiversity conservation
6
Comparisons between Lee Kong Chian Natural
History Museum and Hong Kong Museum of History
VS
-By Edwin Kwok
8
Outline
1. Vision and Mission (Input)
2. Exhibition
3. Outcome (Output)
Vision and
Mission Exhibition Outcome
8
Vision and mission
NUS
• Stresses on biodiversity in Singapore and southeast Asia, chiefly on the richness of flora and fauna
• Raises the public's awareness by holding outreach to natural reserves
• Visualize biodiversity by a collection of specimen
8
Vision and mission
HK Museum of History
• Introduces visitors the history of Hong Kong, comprising natural history and human history
• Emphasizes on the history of modification of landscape in Hong Kong by human
• Simulates the pre-historical landscape of Hong Kong
8
Exhibition
• NUS museum illustrates biodiversity by specimens and multimedia approach, while HK Museum of History utilizes a more conventional way, high-fidelity diorama
• NUS museum stresses on multisensory learning, whereas screens in HK Museum of History are still old-fashioned
• Every exhibition in NUS museum is well-labelled, whilst Hong Kong Museum of History tends to give a general picture to visitors
8
Meticulous
plant
specimens
8
8
A copious
collection of
invertebrate
specimens
8
High fidelity
diorama mimicking
the landscape of
ancient Hong Kong
8
Multisensory
presentation Specimens
Models
Videos
Microscopic slides
8
Appreciate the diversity of texture of tree
trunk, exemplified by some common
roadside trees in Singapore, by first-
hand experience
8
High fidelity dioramas in
Hong Kong Museum of History
Asian Black Bear South China Tiger
8
Outcome
• After NUS Natural History Museum:
A thorough understanding on landscape and vegetation in Singapore
Increased knowledge towards life, phylogeny and geology
Appreciation of life, conservation and biodiversity
• After HK Museum of History:
A comprehensive picture on history of Hong Kong, but more on human history
Modification of landscape by settlers
Timeline of development in Hong Kong
8
Conclusion HK Museum of History NUS Natural History
Museum
Main theme History
(Natural history as a part in
the timeline of Hong Kong
history)
Life, biodiversity and
conservation
(History as a part to introduce
biodiversity)
History
-Coverage Detailed and multifaceted Change of landscape and
vegetation only
-Annotation Connection between human’s
life and landscape
Mechanism of formation
Life and biodiversity
-Specimen collection Confined to several groups of
animals only, like butterfly and
Mollusk
A comprehensive review of
biodiversity ranging from
plants to mammals
-Annotation Simple introduction Underlying causes of a
phenomenon or observation
8
Based on phylogenetic tree
8
Timeline of Hong Kong history
8
A flow chart
explaining rock
cycle
8
8
La vita bella! (Beautiful life)
8
Suggestions for
Improvement -By Joanna Law
9
Improvement
• Videos on the screen are played automatically
– Difficult to catch the information
• Better use touchscreen
– Visitors can choose the information that they want to read
9
Improvement
• Better route guidance – Visitors can follow a
learning journey
– From general to specific
– Linkage between different zones
add some footprints on the floor/number the zones
9
Improvement
• Loud voice of tour guiding may disturb other visitors use wireless tour-guiding device (transmitter and
receiver)
– E.g. Dazu Rock Carvings Heritage Site in Chongqing
9
Improvement
• Use audio tour-guiding – Visitors can learn more about the exhibitions even
when there is no tour guide
– E.g. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
9
Improvement
• Focus more on the message of conservation – Display many specimens and provide the names of the
species
but seldom mention what threats the species are facing
9
Thank you!
多謝!
Terima kasih! நன்றி!